Means for humidifying air



35.. 13, 1931. BU K 1,788,447

MEANS FOR HUMIDIFYING AIR Filed Feb. 27, 1929 3 Sheets-$het 1 lNl/E' N TOR.

Jan. 13, 1931. E. s. BUCK 1,788,447

MEANS FOR HUMIDIFYING AIR Jan. 13,1931. E. s. BUCK I I 1,788,447

MEANS FOR HUMIDIFYING AIR Filed Feb. 27, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet a Fatenteol Jan. 313, 1931 warren sraras rnranr EVERETT S. BUCK, F CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERAL IRON WORKS COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A GORPOMTIQN 0F EH10 MEANS FOR HUMIDIFYING MR Application filed February 27, 1929. Serial No. 34.33%?

It is the object of myinvention' to humidify the air by introducing thereinto condensation of the flue vapor arising from the heating fuel used for heating the air; and,

further, to purify said condensation so that the purified condensation is used. for this purpose; further, to employ condensed vapor of the products of combustion, from which impurities, such as acids or alkalies,

or physical. impurities, have been removed or neutralized, as a humidifying agent for humidifying the air used for heating a room, chamber or other enclosure; and, further, to automatically control the amount of humidification by the amount of heated ,air or the temperature of the heated air introduced into the enclosure.

It has been the experience in heating plants employing heated air as a heating medium that it is advisable to supply the air .with moisture, as otherwise the heated air pro-f ceeding from the heating plant is too dry for human comfort or for other living creatures as Well as for-articles, such as furniture, in

the enclosure for human habitation or use. It

hasbeen usual heretofore to supply this moisture by evaporation from water supplied ex.-

traneously of the heating plant, as from a hydrant.

I have found that the vapor in the passage or fine for the products of combustion may be condensed, and that this condensation may be purified, or the deleterious or other acids or alkalies therein neutralized, and the purified condensation used for humidifying the air used for heating purposes. I have provided means whereby this may be accomplished. My invention consists in means for providing and employing such condensation..

In employing my invention, the amount of condensation is dependent on the amount or temperature of the products of combustion passing through the combustion passage or fine, so that the amount of condensat on is substantially proportional to the amount of heat supplied for heating the air, and the amount of air heated or the degree of tem- 50 perature to which the air is heated 1s proportional to the, amount or temperature of the products of combustion.

The greater the amount of air being heated, or the degree of temperature to which the air is heated, passing through the heating plant, the greater the amount of condensation or condensed Vapors which is required to properly humidity the heating air. In my invention, further, the amount of condensation obtained from the products of combustion and supplied to the heating air is substantially proportional to the amount orheat of the products of combustion and the correspond- 1ng amount. or-degree of temperature or the heating air. 7

Thus a small amount of condensation is supplied to the heating air when only a small amount of heat is being supplied,for instance in temperate weather, and a proportionally larger amount of condensation is supplied to the heating air as the amount or heat of the heating air is increased, for instance in colder weather.

The invention will be further readily understood from the following description and claims, and from the drawings which illustrate a furnace for heating air, although the structure or arrangement of the furnace or heating plant is immaterial within the'scope of the appended claims. I make no claim herein to the structure or arrangement of the furnace herein shown and described, except so far as the humidifying means are concerned, as the structure and arrangement of the furnace herein shown and described is shown, described and claimed in Letters Pat ent of the United States No. 1,715,007, granted Arthur E. Reuss, assignor to The General Iron Works Company, for air heater, dated May 28, 1929. 1

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplifying heating plant, partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, taken in the plane of the line 22 of Fig. 3, and partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the same, taken in the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and partly broken away.

Fig. 4 is a detailview of the purifying beingin the feed-pipe.

Passages 21 are shown rectangular in crosssection provided with upper walls 22, lower walls 23, and side walls 24, 25. These passages are open-ended as shown at 26, 27. These passages are arranged one above the other'in the heater, and are spacedapart by spaces 31, which form passages crossingly arranged with relationto the passages 21. The

passages 31 are open-ended as shown at 32,-

, 33, and have side walls 34.

Connecting passages 35, 36, formed by defiectors 37, 38, having closed ends, connect neighboring passages 21, such neighboring passages being one above the other at the respective ends @of said passages.

There is an inlet-port 39 communicating with the upper passage 21. The lower passage 21 connectswith an extension passage 41, which extends downwardly at one side of the fire-box, crosswise under the fire-box, and upwardly at the other side of the firebox and of said cross-passages, and at its upper end has an outlet-port 42 which connects with a hood 43, which directs the heated air into a drum 44, from which suitable heating pipes, shown at 45, provided with usual dampers 46, direct the heated air to the desired points of use, as to the various rooms in' a dwelling or to other spaces to be heated. The hood and parts thereabove may if desired be omitted.

The passages 21 extend throughout the major portion of the width of the heater. and, with the connectin passages 35, 36, formed by the deflectors, .orm a serpentine passage for the air to be heated.- The direction of movement of the air in said passage is indicated by the arrows a. The air is received through the inlet-port 39 and is exemplified as having a general downward course in said passage above the fire-box. It is forced around the bottom of the fire-box and then ascends in the ascending stretch or extension of the passage, and is received through the discharge-port 42 of said assage.

Theair to be heated is pre erably forced in a direction reverse to the direction of natural flow of heated air, which would be upward in the serpentine passage.- The air to be heated is forced downward, as by means of a blower 51, which comprises an electric motor 52 and a fan 53 in an intake chamber 54,

through an opening 61 in the rear wall of the fire-box or combustion chamber. Therespective upper walls and lower walls of the passages 21 above the fire-box form respectively the lower wall and the upper wall of the passages 31, crossingly arranged with relation to the first-named pas ages. The ends of neighboring passages 31' bove one another are connected at the respective ends qf said passages by means of connecting passages 62, 63, formed by deflectors 64, '65, having closed ends. The passage for the products of coinbustion is provided with an outlet port 66, connecting with a hood 67, from which a smoke-stack or flue 68 extends. The lower one of said deflectors connects the lower passage 31 with the opening 61 in the fire-box.

A serpentine passage extending back and forth is thus provided for the products of combustion, the course of the products of combustion being indicated by the arrows b. The products of combustion have a serpentine passage back and forth between the passages .through which the air being heated moves back and forth in a serpentine path.

The products of combustion are separated from the heated air by a single thickness of sheet metal which forms adividing wall between the passages through which the products of combustion and the air respectively pass, providing for extreme transference of heat to said air.

The outer walls of the furnace may be providgi with suitable insulation exemplified a In the present exemplification, the products of combustion are received through the cross-passages and connecting passages formed by the deflectors, which cross-passages are exemplified as rectangular in cross-section and extend back and forth throughout sub stantially the horizontal cross-sectional area of the heater, and having the cross-passages for the air being heated, also exemplified as rectangular in cross-section, extending back and forth crossingly between the same, and extending substantially throughout the horizontal cross-sectional area of the heater.

Single walls of metal are thus provided by this construction between the passages for the products of combustion and the passages for the air being heated, enabling substantially all of the heat in the products of combustion to be transferred to the air being heated.

The cool incoming feed-air for the furnace passes first through the upper cross-passages 21, where it .is acted on by the cooler portions of the products of combustion passing through the upper cross-passages 31, and has waste?" heat transferred thereto through the walls of said passages. The air being heated is acted on progressively by hotter portions of the products of combustion as it proceeds to the wall of the firebox, where itis acted on by the hottest portions of the products of com bustionr The products of combustion-arising from the heating" element pass through the crosspassages 31, the hottest portions of the products of combustion crossing throughthe lower ones of said cross-passages and transferring heat to the heating air at the other sides of said walls of said cross passages, the products of combustion cooling as they pass through the upper ones of said cross-passages 31 for utilising substantially all of the heat therein for heat transference to the heating air.

The products of combustion contain vapor which is caused to condense preferably in the heater, for instance 1n the form of beads 71 of condensation forming onthe bottom surface of the wall 23o separatingan air pas-- sage from the flue gas passage. The latent heat resulting from this condensing is trans; formed to the air in the air passage-21o by convection, thus adding to the heat of this air, and providing an economical factor in creating this condensation. This condensation is afterwards transferred into'the cur rent of heating air, and the cooling effect whichthis condensation'has upon the air is counteracted by the heating efiect due to the condensing, and at the same time moisture is made available for humidifying purposes The beads of condensation are led from the passage or fine for the products of com bustion at a cooler portion or portions in said products of combustion to a hotter portion or portions of the air being heated, tlm air being-heatedat said latter portion or port ons again vaporizing the condensation and rea ceiving the condensation as a humidifying agent.

Beads 71a of condensation may also form at a portion of the passage or flue for the products of combustion more distant from. the

firebox if greater heat is applied to said products of combustion, for instance, as exemplified by the beads 71a of condensation forming on th bottom surface of the Wall 236 between a passage for the products of combustion and a passage for, the air being heated, The latter heads have a course simi-- lar to the beads 71 for providing humidification for the heating air.

The transference of the condensation from the passage or flue for the products of combustion to a heating; air passage may be obtained by providing the deflectors with depressions 72, 720, into which the beads of condensation Y1, 710:, are caused to flow. These beads of condensation may flow along the walls 23a and 235 on which they are tively. A. pipe 73 connects With-the depression '32s for feeding; the condensation therein to the depression 720 Either one or both of said collecting means for condensation may be provided.

There may be deleterious substances or chemicals passing with the water of condensation into the depressions 72, 72a. in order to counteract or nullify such deleterious substances, the condensation is preferably purified before admission into the heating; air passage A suitable purifying means for purifying the condensation is provided. This is exemplified as a body 75 of purifying agent, contained in a container 76, into which the condensation is led, for instance by a pipe Z7, from the depression 7 2.

Title? container is preferably a glass jar through which the condition-of the purifying. agent or reagent and the condition of the Water or condensation may be Viewed. It is prei erably placed on the outside of the furnace, and is shown provided with a screw-cap 7& supported by the furnace, into which the threaded neclr 79 of the jar 'i'llis arranged to be screwed.

The pipe 77 passes from the interior of the furnace wall through an opening 81 in the furnace wall. to the outside of the furnace Wall, and thence through an opening 82 in said cap, the pipe preferably passing-downwardlyin adjacency to the bottom of the corn tainer so as preferably to cause flow of the condensation through the purifying agent.

A pipe 85 connects with the cap and passes through an opening" 86 in the Wall of the furnace and into. one of the heating air passages, preferably the lower heating air passage 216, Where the pipe 85 has a-discharge mouth 87. The cap 78 may be supported by said pipes.

The water of condensation willnormally be at a level in the pipe v7'7, for instance.,'at the level indicated at 88, above the outlet 87 of the pipe 85 in the heating air passage 21?). There is a continual flow by gravity from the pipe 77 through the container '76 and the pipe 85 and through the outlet 8'2. The higher level 88 of the water of condensation in the pipe 77 is also caused bythe pressure of the heating air in the passage 216. There is continuous water seal or Water trap formed. by said pipes and the container to prevent the passageof unpurified products ofcombustion into. the heating air channel;

The water of condensation formed in the flue or passage of the products of combustion while the furnace is operating is provided in suficient quantity to maintain a trap or seal in advance of the pipe 85 and to insure a continuous passage of the water of condensation into the heating air passage.

The amount of Condensation formed in the flue or passage of the products of combustion is dependent on and proportional to the amount of heat being supplied to or'passing through the furnace, and the amount of humidifying agent absorbed by the heating air for properly humidifying the same is also proportional to the amount of such air or the degree of temperature thereof passing through the heater, so'that the supply of condensation for the air being heated is automatically regulated by the amount of heat applied in the furnace and the amount of air-or the degree of temperature of the air being heated which passes through the furnace.

If the furnace is beingoperated for producing a comparatively low heat, for instancein warmer weather, there is less condensation formed and less humidity required in the air passage 21. When, however, the furnace is speeded up or caused to produce greater heat, there will. be a greater amount of condensation formed for automatically suppl ing the greater amount of humidity require for the greater amount of air or the higher temperature of the air passing through the air pas-' sage 21. The properamount of moisture is thus maintained in the heated air for respiration purposes and forproducmg an atmosphere in the heated room or apartment most conduciveto healthful living conditions.

Exemplifying impurities which maybe in the water of condensation received in the container 76 from the flue or passage for the products of combustion, and instancmg the fuel as gas, such condensation may contain dilute sulphuric acid, in proportion in a range of one to four partsper ten-thousand parts. Such acidulous condition is neutralized by means ofpure lime-stone.

A suitable purifying agent or reagent, e1 emplified at 75, for neutralizing the sulphuric acid, may be instanced as barium hydroxide or lime-stone.

The container for a heatingplant deliver-- ing approximately 700 cubic feet of heated air per minute may be of 2-quart size and the lime-stone therein be of a weight of approximately 3 pounds.

A charge of said lime-stone 1n the container will last approximately two years during continuous operation of the heater.

Other impurities may be contained 1n the condensation, depending on the fuel employed, which may be determined by Cl'lPIIll cal analysis, precipitation and flotation, and a purifying agent orreagent whlch will neutralize, nullify or arrest such impuritles contained in the condensation may be employed in the container 76, the purifying agent acting as a filter, both chemical and mechanical for such impurities. As, for example, the air for eombustionmig'ht contain sulphur dust and silica dust. The sulphur will be chemically neutralized by the lime-stone and the silica will settle out by gravity or be held by adhesion to the filtering agent.

Instancing the condensation formed, it

may be stated that the combustion of one hundred feet of a retort coal gas forms approximately 7.92 pounds of water vapor, H O, which is invisible until. condensed,

This condensation takes place below 212 Fahrenheit, at atmospheric pressure, and forms in thepassages or'fiue in the products of'combustion, as hereinbefore stated. The water vapor in the heated gases results from the combustion of the hydrogen in the gas,

and, if the exact amount of air is added for perfect combustion, such resultant flue gases will have a dew-point of approximately 136 Fahrenheit.

The condensing is enhanced by having cool law of thermo-dynamics,results in the cooling of the flue gases, I do not herein claim the method or steps of the method of humidifying a-ir herein shown and described, having shown, described and claimed the same in mycopending application for Letters Patent of the United States on method of humidifying air, Serial'No. 448,615, filed April 30, 1930, which is a division of this original application and to which reference is here made. p

' Having thus fully described my invention, what I claimas new, and desire to secure by- Letters Patent, is:

1. A device for heating air comprisinga passage for the products of combustion, means'for collectin condensation from'the products of combustion passing through said passage, means for purifying said condensation from said products of combustion, and means for introducing the purified condensation into the heating air.

2. A device for heating air comprising av passage for the products of combustion, means for'collecting condensation from the products of combustion and chemically purifying the same, and means for introducing said chemically purified condensation into the heating ai v I 3. A device for heating air comprising a passage for the products of combustion, a

master.

ucts of combustion in said container, a feed pipe for said condensation between said depression and said container, a passage for the air being heated, and a feed pipe for the purified condensation between said c ontainer and said last-named passage.

5. In a device for heating air, the combination of a passage for the products of combustion, said passage provided with a depression for receiving condensation from said products of combustion, a container, apuritying agent for said condensation from saidproducts of combustion in said container, a

gravity feed-pipe for said condensation ioetween said depression and said container, a

passage for the air being" heated, and a gravity feedipe for the purified condensation from. said products of combustion be tween said container and said last-named passage, said container forming a trap for said-condensation wherein saidcondensation is purified bgsaid purifying agent, andthe outlet of sai second-named pipe in said second-named passage bein low enough to perinit gravity flow oi sai condensation from said container.

6. In a device for heating air, the combi, nation of a passage for products of combustion and a passage for heating air, the current of said products of combustion movin in general direction upwardly in said rstnamed passage and the current of heating air moving in general direction downwardly in said second-named passage, and arranged for condensing ,iiue vapor in the upper portion of said first-named passage, and means for introducing said condensed flue vapor into'the lower portion of said second-named passage.

i. in a device for heating air, ,the combina tion or a passage for products of combustion and a passage for heating air, the current of said products of combustion moving in general direction upwardly in said first-named passage and the current of heating air moving in general d1rect1on downwardly in said' second-named passage, and arranged for condensingfiue vapor in the upper portion of said first-named passage, means for purifying the condensed iiue vapor, and means for introdncing said condensed flue vapor into the lower portion of said second-named pamge.

8. A. device for heating air comprising a passage ,for the products of combustion, means for collecting condensation from the products of combustion passing through said passage, and means for introducing said. condensation into the heating air. m In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

' EVERETT S. BUGK. 

